The Last Of Us Season 2 Officially Fixes A Huge Mistake From Season 1

"The Last of Us" season 1, for the most part, felt like a walkthrough version of the original video game. Indeed, the HBO series was often faithful to a fault in its early going. As a result, its first season frequently offered little in the way of new material for people who'd already experienced the best version of this story — the one you play yourself.

At times, however, the show did make big changes. Season 1, episode 3, most notably, told a largely original story that was only hinted at in the source material, and it's easily the best thing the show has done so far. There were also scenes in the first two episodes showing how the series' pandemic began. This allowed the show to expand the world of "The Last of Us" beyond its two main characters and make it feel bigger and more lived-in. 

Now, for season 2, the show is making another major alteration. Except, rather than tweaking the lore of the original game and its sequel, the series is retconning a season 1 detail that was itself a significant deviation from the games' mythology.

"Season 1, we had this new thing that wasn't in the game, these tendrils that spread. And that was one form," co-creator and showrunner Neil Druckmann revealed at a SXSW panel. "And then one shot you see in this trailer, there are things in the air."

That's right: the spores are back, baby! Delicious, delirious, deadly spores, they are the invisible enemies that arrive before the Infected. While "The Last of Us" season 1 elected to discard this aspect of the original games, Druckmann and his fellow creator and showrunner have confirmed that season 2 will introduce spores to the TV series.

"We really wanted to figure it out, and again, everything has to be drama," Mazin added. "There had to be a dramatic reason of introducing it now. And there is."

For those not aware, the spores are a major aspect of the "Last of Us" video games. In fact, they're what allowed the Cordyceps fungi infection to effectively end civilization, as people who inhaled them would go on to become the Infected. They also play a narrative and environmental role, as spores typically hint at other Infected being nearby. Likewise, it's the spores that convince Joel (Pedro Pascal in the show) of Ellie's (Bella Ramsey) immunity to the Cordyceps infection, as she can walk through spores without a mask and not suffer any consequences.

Season 1 of HBO's "The Last of Us" ditched the spores in favor of tendrils, which themselves simulate how mushrooms communicate with one another through a network that resembles roots. It's visually terrifying, but more than anything, it served a practical reason. Had season 1 featured the spores, the show's characters would've had to wear masks to protect themselves for long periods of time like they do in the games. Seeing as this is not "The Mandalorian," though, HBO probably wouldn't have wanted Pascal covering his face all the time.

So, why go back to spores now? Well, there's a good story reason that shall remain unspoiled here. Still, Druckmann did note there's "an escalation of numbers and types of Infected, but also, as you see in the trailer, an escalation of the vector of how this thing spreads." To be sure, with Joel having stopped the Fireflies from killing Ellie and extracting a cure from her body at the end of season 1, it's plausible the infection will have evolved and spread even further by the time season 2 picks up.

Then again, there could be an entirely different explanation for why spores are now (literally) just floating about in the world. All shall be revealed when "The Last of Us" season 2 premieres on HBO and Max on April 13, 2025.